[Photograph: national Palace Museum] That's not a glistening chunk of pork—that's a stone carved to look like a glistening chunk of pork. The "Meat-shaped Stone," along with the "Jadeite Cabbage," made during the Ch'ing Dynasty (1644–1911) are some of the most famous pieces at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan....
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[Flickr: yusheng] Shaved ice + red beans + sweetened condensed milk + flan = hong dou bing, or red bean shaved ice, a typical Taiwanese dessert. Oh, glistening suspension of red beans in thick condensed milk topped with wobbly pudding mass—how I love you. For those who live in Taipei, Yusheng says he got this shaved ice at Gāoxióng Pópóbīng. Related How to Make Patbingsu (Korean Shaved Ice) Sugar Rush: Mango Special Shaved Ice at the Flushing Mall Snapshots from Asia: Will the Real Shaved Ice Please Stand Up? Top Ten Taiwanese Snacks...
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Photographs by Joel Haas Get a look into the chaotic and food-centric Shilin Night Market, the largest night market in Taipei, with Joel Haas's photo tour on Neatorama. You can find fruits, freshly made dumplings, candied tomatoes, obanyaki, sugar cane juice, and more in this market that runs from the late afternoon until about 2 a.m. For more Taiwanese night market food porn, check out the Taiwan Night Markets Flickr group. Related Eating in Taipei Top Ten Taiwanese Snacks...
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Photograph from yusheng on Flickr If you live in Taiwan, go to Japanese doughnut chain Mister Donut for some ridiculously cute cellphone charms, including the elephant charm above. (Look at those ears! There's cream coming out of them! Cream!) Yusheng explains that the chain is having a promotion where for every NT$70 (about $2 USD) you spend, you get a scratch-off card with 1 to 5 points. When you collect 10 points, you can exchange them for a cellphone charm. If I lived in Taiwan, I'd be at Mister Donuts every day to collect all four....
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That's too many seeds for a normal McDonald's bun. Spotted in Taiwan, the "Grilled Chicken Multi Grains" demonstrates the fast food industry's attempt to make us healthier—and what better way than with big, fat seeds. The sandwich isn't currently available in the United States, where the closest alternative is a Premium Grilled Chicken Classic Sandwich on a "toasted honey wheat bakery roll." (No seeds involved.)...
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Dorayaki is a Japanese sweet made of two sweet pancakes, typically with a red bean filling. Everyone in Taipei is going nuts for the dorayaki from this bakery. Yusheng, who posted his photos on Flickr (including the one above), reports standing in line for 2.5 hours to buy some....
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Taiwan is not a country that generally comes to mind when the food-obsessed think of where to vacation, but everyone I know who's ever been has come back completely gobsmacked by everything they've eaten there, vowing to return and in some cases already planning their second trip back. Mei is lucky enough to live in Taiwan, and she put together her own local snacking guide, Top Ten Taiwanese Tucks. Everything she describes sounds delicious, from the stuffed pastries to the knife-sliced noodles, but the listing that intrigues me most is her favorite shaved-ice place: "Xin Fa Ting in the Shilin Night Market. Winter or summer, come rain or shine, this place is always packed. What makes the ice here so...
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